Greetings Golfers,

Usually when we close for the season, we still have good enough weather to complete projects on the golf course. This year we probably can’t … so I won’t tell you what we have in the works. Hopefully, they can be finished next spring – maybe even before we open.

But, fall projects, whether completed or not … we had a very good golf year in 2017. And I would like to thank everyone involved – staff and golfers … vendors and investors … local and national golf organizations … and the media.

Though we had a very good year … we are in a “growth” mindset, not a “fixed” mindset. A new book “Mindset” by Carol Dweck is about the difference in two mindsets. The “fixed” mindset is stuck in who you “are” … not who can become. The “fixed” mindset believes that you can’t grow … you just are who you are. If you have a great year – you rest on your laurels. If you have a bad year – you give up.

When NASA was selecting applicants for astronauts, they rejected people with pure histories of success and instead selected people who had had significant failures and bounced back from them.

Think about golf. Isn’t golf about constantly learning from failure? How about running a business? How about just living?

I think this relates to power. You know that famous saying by Lord Acton: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I disagree. I think power “exposes”. What I mean is that when someone changes after they get power … they didn’t really change … they could finally be who they really are.

Of course people have flashes of obnoxious change … and the younger they are, the more I give them a break. And, I give everyone a little time to bask in new power or glory or money. But, I expect them to come back to earth. If they don’t, now I know who they really are.

Which goes back to the mindset of either “fixed” or “growth”.

Here’s a pretty gross quote from a French executive named Pierre Chevalier “We are not a nation of effort. After all, if you have savior-faire (a mixture of know-how and cool), you should do things effortlessly.”

That’s mind-boggling. I believe in effort. I believe in growing. Maybe that’s old-fashioned. Maybe that’s not cool. But I can’t imagine living without trying.

Well, we had a great year. And next year will be better. Because we’ll keep trying.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com